Mr Fix-It
by up side and down
Summary: A Modern Day Ugly Meeting AU-"You broke down my door while you were drunk, but know my cat likes you and we're good."


**A/N: I just realized I never put this on here, which is a damn shame because it's one of my personal favorites. Crisis avertied. Whew!**

Cloud woke up when he heard the crash. He could hear someone fumbling around inside his apartment.

"Oh shit," Cloud said, "Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" This is what he got for getting cheap housing in this city. He lived in a shitty neighborhood and had maybe two neighbors that weren't drug dealers and now one of their clients had broken in looking to settle a score and he was going to die.

They'd send his mother what what left of his charred remains. They wouldn't tell her he'd been cannibalized and disemboweled and—

"Zack!" A deep voice yelled, well, slurred more like it. Cloud sank to the floor and moved to the doorway. He peered around the corner.

"Fuck," Cloud whispered to himself. There was a giant in his apartment. He would be ripped apart. He was alone and didn't even have a weapon.

He caught sight of a glint of metal under his bed. He snatched it up. Okay, he had a baseball bat. He'd probably end up sodomized with it, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

Then he heard it.

"MA-ow!"

"Oh shit," Cloud said. He was fucked and was going to die, but like hell he'd let some drunken giant with a grudge kill his cat.

He peered around the corner again. Sephiroth, the lovable dumbass that he was, was sitting on the floor watching the giant stagger around. His tail flicked a little in amusement.

"Sef!" Cloud hissed, "here kitty, kitty." As usual, Seph didn't fucking listen.

"Ma-ow!" Sephiroth called. He wanted fucking treats from his soon-to-be murderer. Why did Cloud get the dumbest cat in the world?

"Zack!" the giant called again. Cloud certainly hoped Zack felt guilty for causing the death of another. He'd probably feel like he dodged a bullet.

"Ma-ow!" Sephiroth replied. The giant finally looked down at the grayish-white cat calling at him.

Cloud stood up. He would die for his stupid, cuddly, dumbass cat and no one else.

"Hey kitty," the giant growled, "what's your name?"

"Ma-ow!" Sephiroth said, which translated out to "give me fucking treats dammit!" Cloud tightened his grip on the bat's handle getting ready for his final charge. He stepped into the hall, then stopped.

The giant was sitting on the floor and…petting his cat.

Sephiroth, the mooch that he was, sucked up all the attention. He was nudging the giant's hand and purring loud enough to fill the room with the sound. He settled himself deep in the giant's lap, green eyes blinking lazily at Cloud, challenging him to do anything.

"You little shit," Cloud mouthed.

"Good kitty," the giant muttered. Cloud moved slowly to the living room and toward his cell phone. He could call the cops. Yeah, he'd call the cops and…get shanked tomorrow because he called the cops and busted five of his neighbors trying to get rid of their problem. Shit.

Unbelievably, quiet snores started right behind him. Cloud turned. The giant was asleep, Sephiroth still purring away in his lap. His door was broken, he couldn't call the cops, there was a giant in his apartment, and his cat liked him.

"Fuck," Cloud whimpered.

* * *

To say Cloud had a long night was an understatement. He stayed awake for most of it, perched on his recliner, holding on to his baseball bat like it was his salvation on earth. Sephiroth did not remove himself from the giant's lap, instead calling for Cloud to get off his ass and get those treats he wanted.

The giant never stirred. Lucky bastard.

The only good news was that having a monster of a man passed out in your kitchen turned out to be a good repellant for other intruders. He heard footsteps pause outside of his open door, then scurry on their way, not wanting to get involved with what happened.

Cloud bet one of them was Zack.

Cloud found himself starting to nod off as the Sun started to peek through his windows. He sat up with a start when he heard the groan.

"Oh shit, shit, shit," Cloud whimpered. Time to die again. Sephiroth meowed loudly in complaint as his bed shifted beneath him. The giant held his head at the noise. Sephiroth slipped off his lap and moved to Cloud. Little traitor.

Cloud held his bat defensively in front of him as the giant began to rouse himself, obviously a bit hungover and confused.

The big man blinked around himself, trying to piece together what had happened the night before. He stared at Cloud for a solid minute, then at the door, still hanging on by one hinge.

"Oh my god," he said, "oh my god." Cloud was ready. He would smack him then run. He could get his possessions later; all he needed was his cat.

"Oh god, are you okay?" the man asked. Okay, not the direction Cloud thought this would take.

"Oh…fuck, what did I do?" he really seemed concerned about this. Cloud felt his mouth opening and closing, but really had nothing to say.

"Oh…please say you're alright," the man said, "what else did I break?"

"Ma-ow," Sephiroth said, batting gently at Cloud's face. Cloud blinked.

"I don't know?" he tried. The man was holding what was left of the door and making agonized noises.

"Have you called the police yet?" he asked, "It's alright if you press charges. Oh…what did I do?"

"Uhh…" Cloud started weakly.

"I'll pay for all the damages," the man continued, "I'll by you a new door I swear and…Oh Angeal what did you do?"

By now Cloud had digested that his intruder was sobered up some and felt remorseful. He also realized he didn't care and just wanted him out.

"It's alright," Cloud said, "It's fine, just…just go."

"But…I am so sorry," the man said.

"I know," Cloud said, "It's fine, I won't press charges, just go."

"I'm sorry," the man said, backing out of the doorway, "I am so, so sorry."

"Yes," Cloud said, "just go." He started to close the door gently, the one hinge still holding on strong. The lock didn't click as it shut and when Cloud tested the doorknob it didn't turn. The door no longer lined up with the ceiling. The whole thing threatened to fall back open again. Cloud braced the door with his extra kitchen chair.

Then he slid down the wall and dropped his bat. He buried his head in his arms and let himself shudder in relief. He survived.

"Maow!" Sephiroth called and batted his leg. Cloud glared at his cat, but it didn't last. The little fucker was just too cute.

"Yes, yes," Cloud said, "treats for the little traitor." Sephiroth danced around his legs when he heard the treat jar jangling.

What was he going to tell his landlord?

* * *

Cloud's asshole of a landlord was taking his sweet time in getting a replacement door, trying to get Cloud to state it was his fault and make him pay for it.

Cloud was determined to wait him out. He was making due with a cheap system of bungee cords and bracing the flimsy thing with a chair.

So far he hadn't been robbed yet. He didn't have much worldly possessions as it was though.

Four days after the initial incident, there was a firm knock that made Cloud's bungeed door open a little. Cloud took up his trusty baseball bat.

"Who is it?" Cloud yelled.

"Uhh…your neighbor four doors down," a man's voice said, "I uh…I have a friend who might have busted down your door." Cloud felt his heart rate spike.

"What do you want?" Cloud asked.

"Uhh…can I come in?" the man said, "I swear I'm not a murderer or anything. I just wanted to apologize. It's kinda my fault too and…it's really awkward…talking to your door." Cloud debated with himself for a moment. Sephiroth was lounging on the counter, looking as cool as ever. He mewed sweetly as Cloud's gaze passed over him.

"Moocher," Cloud huffed. Then started undoing the bungee cord. He could grab Sef and run if the need called for it.

The door swung open once it's cords were off. A black-haired guy watched it wiggle on its hinge almost in shock. He blinked a few times.

"Oh man," he said, "He really did a number on it."

"…Yeah," Cloud said, his bat resting on the floor.

"I…I'm Zack Fair," the other man said, "I live four doors down…and I'm really sorry my friend broke your door." Cloud wasn't getting a serial killer vibe from this guy. He actually seemed really sincere.

"It's alright," Cloud said, after a long and awkward pause. That was Zack's invitation to start talking and never stop.

"No really, I'm sorry," Zack said, "I know this is the sort of neighborhood where you keep to yourself and don't make big waves, but…I invited my drunk friend over and caused all this.

"He's usually really sober. I've never seen him drunk before. He was really out of it and he called me and I told him to walk over here instead of driving and…he must have gotten lost." Zack waited for a response.

"Must have," Cloud said.

"He called me this morning and told me what happened and…he's really sorry and he still says he'll pay for a replacement it you need it. And he'll totally turn himself in if that's what you want and-"

"No, no," Cloud said, "I'm doing fine."

"Really," Zack said, "He's all into the making amends thing and he's really beating himself up over this."

"It's fine," Cloud said, "I…I just want to move on from this." Zack nodded.

"I understand," Zack said, "But…listen. If you ever need help, I'm four doors down. I've lived here for a while and I will totally have your back. If someone even wiggles your door, you can run down to me."

"…Okay," Cloud said. Zack waved cheerfully and left. Cloud got his door to hold itself closed again.

"Did he seem trustworthy to you?" Cloud asked Sephiroth.

"Mew," Sephiroth said.

"Me too."

* * *

A full two weeks had passed since the door incident. The landlord wasn't budging. Zack had stopped by a few times, once walking him to his car, chatting the whole way. Despite his vow not to trust anyone he lived by, Cloud found it impossible not to like Zack a little.

He was as happy-go-lucky as a puppy, but as vicious as a wolf in a pinch. Cloud had seen him give a cold, merciless smile to the guys on the second floor who made a habit out of catcalling anything that moved passed their landing.

"I can fuck a bitch up," Zack said with a much friendlier grin, "You don't seem too helpless either, with your baseball bat schtick." Zack was willing to tell his entire life story to Cloud, if he had let him that is.

Cloud let himself think of Zack as the nice sane neighbor.

Still…he felt a sharp rush of betrayal when he saw a horribly familiar person at his now open doorway.

The drunken giant from the door incident was here again. He immediately dropped all of his tools when he caught sight of Cloud.

"I swear I am just replacing your door, that is it," he said, "If you leave and come back in an hour I'll be gone and you'll never see me again." Cloud shifted his groceries in his arms.

His old door had been taken out. A new one, one with a powerful looking deadbolt and chain that was nearly twice as thick as his old one was ready to be put in.

"Okay," Cloud said, "Can I put my food away?"

"Yes of course," the man said, "You live here." Cloud slid by him and set his bags down on the counter. Sephiroth was staring at the other man purring quietly. Cloud tried not to be self-conscious about the presence behind him, but it was impossible.

"Hey Ange, Cloud's car is back I think you should…" Zack's voice trailed off. Cloud sent his neighbor a glare.

"Oops," Zack said, "I can explain Cloud."

"You called him here?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," Zack said, "Your door was waiting to be busted down again. Angeal really wanted to make amends. This seemed like the best fix. I didn't know you were just shopping so I called him over. A nice surprise for when you got back."

Cloud opened his mouth to make a retort to that…but he had nothing. It was just a nice thing to do after what happened.

"I'll never forgive myself for this," the man…Angeal, said, "I haven't had a drink in years and I don't think I ever will again. I can't imagine how much I scared you." Cloud felt his usual "its okay" forming in his mouth, but held it back.

Sometimes things weren't okay.

Angeal came forward holding out a card, a business card.

"I run a carpentry shop, so this is pretty easy for me," Angeal said, "I'm not going to imagine you'll drop my name to your friends or family." Cloud took it. It seemed pretty legit. Hewley's Woodworking. Come to think of it, he passed by that building on his way to his first job. Cloud nodded.

"Okay," Cloud said, "If it makes you feel better." Zack invited himself in and started helping Cloud with groceries. Cloud could feel the waves of "I'm sorry" pulsing off of his sane neighbor.

"Um…Excuse me," Angeal said. Cloud turned around and frowned at his cat. Sef was winding himself between Angeal's legs mewing happily.

"Sef, bad kitty," Cloud said. Sephiroth was limp and pliant as Cloud picked him up. If Cloud didn't know better, he would say his cat was in love.

"Sorry," Cloud said, "He's stupid sometimes."

"I just didn't want to step on him," Angeal said, "What's his name? If you don't mind me asking."

"Sef, I mean, Sephiroth," Cloud said. Sephiroth slid out of Cloud's arms and into the nearest empty bag, curling himself inside. Zack snickered a little, but Sephiroth paid him no mind.

"He seems pretty friendly," Angeal said.

"He's mostly stupid," Cloud said. Sephiroth's tail flicked as if he knew he was being talked about.

"He'll do just about anything for a treat," Cloud said. Zack picked up the tin can.

"Are these the treats?" he asked. The contents inside jingled and suddenly the paper bag was in shreds.

"Maow," Sephiroth meowed at Zack, sitting patiently.

"I'll take that as a yes," Zack said.

"You have to give him one now," Cloud said, "or he'll never leave you alone." Sephiroth was Cloud's only weakness. He could talk forever about his stupid cat.

Sephiroth was playing his role well, nudging against Zack's hand and meowing pitifully.

"Alright, alright," Zack said, "but only 'cause you're so cute."

Angeal finished putting up the door and surveyed his work for a moment.

"That should hold a lot better," Angeal said, "Your other door was rotting. No wonder I broke through it so easily."

"Figures," Cloud muttered.

"Thank you for letting me fix this," Angeal said, "and I am still so sorry for that night."

"It's fine," Cloud said, "I mean…you got me a way better door. If that's not an apology I don't know what is." Angeal smiled a little. It was a gentle thing that made his eyes seems to glow softly.

"If you ever need anything else, give me a call. The number is on the card," Angeal said.

"Oh…thanks," Cloud said. Zack walked out with his friend, giving a questioning thumbs-up that Cloud returned. He shut his new door with a satisfying thud.

"Is it just me, or was he a lot cuter sober?" Cloud asked. Sephiroth meowed in reply.

"I thought so," Cloud said.

* * *

Only a few days later, Cloud was walking down his hallway, when the floor gave in, swallowing his foot up to his ankle.

"Shit!" Cloud said. He wasn't hurt, but he had a fucking hole in his floor. He would bet the landlord wouldn't want to replace this either. He held Angeal's card in his hands for a full fifteen minutes before calling.

"Hewley's Woodworking, this is Angeal speaking," a familiar voice growled.

"Uhh…hi," Cloud said, "this is Cloud Strife. You uh…replaced my door."

"Oh…Cloud, hi," Angeal said, his voice becoming much friendlier, "what can I do for you?"

"Erm…my floor kind of…caved in," Cloud said, "I don't know if you can fix that, but maybe you know someone…"

"Do you have hardwood or carpet?" Angeal asked.

"Linoleum," Cloud said. Angeal hummed.

"How do you feel about tile?" Angeal asked.

"How expensive is it?" Cloud asked.

"I can get you 50% off of whatever you want," Angeal said, "plus free installation." Geez, Angeal really must feel bad about the door.

"Okay," Cloud said.

* * *

It was kind of nice to come home from work and find Angeal working away on replacing all of his floor (including some insulation underneath). It was nothing like how they first met. Angeal was polite to the extreme and found small talk easy to come by.

He made bad puns and Cloud couldn't help, but laugh at them. Sometimes Zack swooped by and got in a faux argument with the carpenter who could also do tile, plumbing, and pretty much anything requiring hands.

"What do you do?" Angeal asked one day.

"Computers," Cloud answered, "I have an expensive degree in computer programming, but no one will hire me if I don't have more experience. Working a help desk it is."

"I'm guessing you have your share of people who throw a fit when they don't get their way."

"Oh yeah," Cloud said, "I had one lady pitch a fit because I wouldn't replace her wet cellphone. I'm a help desk not a store. And you got it wet." They swapped horror stories from work, and horror stories from home, and finally…got to the nice stories. Stories about people who made it worth it, like the sane neighbor Zack.

"There's good people here," Angeal said, "they work hard to keep what they have and that can make them hard. But not all of us are bad." Cloud knew that feeling.

"I'm sorry for being all stiff before," Cloud said.

"I don't blame you," Angeal said, "if some guy broke into my place I might have killed him." He had paused in his work to let Sephiroth lie precisely where he was going to glue down the next tile. Cloud smirked. Angeal was such a pushover for his cat too.

When he finished, Cloud walked him down.

"You really didn't have to do all that," Cloud said.

"Yes, I did," Angeal said, "I couldn't have picked a worse door to break down."

"I couldn't have a better person break in," Cloud pointed out.

"This is true," Angeal hummed.

"Hey blondie, ditch that hunk of meat and come see the toy I got ya!" Cloud was so used to the verbal diarrhea that he didn't even blink.

Angeal, however…

He motioned for Cloud to stay put and walked onto the landing. Cloud couldn't tell what he was saying, but the body language wasn't very nice. He was towering over the speaker who was smart enough to make himself as small as possible. Angeal stomped back, turning to his sweet handyman self as he rejoined Cloud.

When Cloud walked back up, the second floor druggies didn't make a peep.

You didn't fuck around with a guy like Angeal Hewley it seemed.

* * *

Cloud called Angeal the third time when his water stopped working. He forced himself to insist on just a troubleshooting thing, but Angeal came over anyway.

The water for the whole building had been shut off it turned out. Zack came by and said it wasn't the first time.

Angeal frowned and left. A half and hour after he left, the cops showed up. Zack and Cloud made eye-contact down the hall, but said nothing. They would just let it play out.

In the end, most of the second floor went away with cuffs, as did the landlord when he showed up to ask what they fuck the cops thought they were doing. It turns out using an apartment complex to support your meth lab wasn't the smartest thing to do. Cloud declined to make any sort of report, and the cops respected his wishes of not wanting to get shot.

* * *

Cloud was getting used to the quieter apartment building. It wasn't completely safe, but it was nice not worrying about being mugged in the stairwell.

One day he got a knock. A semi-well-dressed redhead was standing on the otherside.

"Your door is different than the others, why?" he demanded. Cloud had to blink.

"Who are you?" he asked through the gap the chain allowed.

"The new landlord," the redhead said, "Genesis Rhapsodos. What happened to your door."

"Uhh…" Cloud hesitated, "Someone broke down my last one. A…friend helped me replace it." Genesis thought that over.

"Does your friend have a name?" Genesis asked.

"Umm…yeah," Cloud said, "you can come in. I'll get his card." Cloud opened the door. The redhead strolled through, seeming to appraise his apartment.

"Did he do your floors as well?" Genesis asked.

"Yeah," Cloud said. He found Angeal's card. He was a little reluctant to give it up, but he had stared at it enough to have memorized the number.

It was weird how much he wanted to call Angeal sometimes, just to hear him chat. He held it out.

An hour later, Cloud's phone rang.

"Did you give my card to a man named Genesis Rhapsodos?" Angeal asked.

"Angeal?" Cloud asked, "oh…yeah."

"He wants me to help with a remodel on your building. Do you realize how much business I'm getting because of you?"

"A lot?" Cloud asked.

"A lot," Angeal agreed. Cloud smiled on the other end.

"Our friend is coming back Sef," Cloud mouthed to his cat. Sephiroth just flicked his tail.

* * *

"I'm going to pass Zack," Angeal said, "You know what happened the last time."

"You broke down your future boyfriend's door," Zack said.

"Yes, no!" Angeal sighed, "I'm not interested." Zack nodded with a grin.

"Tell Cloud I said hey and to give Sephiroth a treat for me," Zack said. Angeal shook his head, but stopped at Cloud's apartment and knocked. Cloud opened with a bright smile.

"Hey Angeal," Cloud said, "come on in."

"Mow," Sephiroth said and rushed forward to rub against Angeal's leg.

"Cloud," Angeal said, bending down to pick up the cat.

"I'm making spaghetti," Cloud said, "you want any?"

"If you have it to spare," Angeal said.

"Always for you," Cloud said. The remodel was worth a fortune to Angeal. He was able to hire more workers for this job and keep them on as Genesis spread the word that Hewley was a good businessman. He of course insisted on doing some of the work as well.

He might have even stayed after hours too. Just to talk to some of the residents.

Angeal leaned on the counter and watched Cloud cook for a moment.

"Cloud," Angeal said.

"Yes?" Cloud said.

"Why didn't you try to kick me out when I broke in?" the question had been burning on his mind for months.

"Well…it's stupid," Cloud said.

"What is it?" Angeal asked.

"Because…Sef liked you," Cloud said. Angeal looked at the purring pile next to him and grinned.

"He's an asshole," Cloud sighed, "but he's a good judge of character. Plus he thinks you're hot."

"Sef thinks I'm hot?" Angeal asked skeptically.

"And me too," Cloud said.

Sephiroth mowed for more attention and Angeal burst out laughing.


End file.
